Nebraska continues to thwart USC in men's basketball

LINCOLN, Neb. - Ray Gallegos couldn't seem to get comfortable offensively the first 15 minutes of Nebraska's game against USC on Monday night.

He made up for lost time.

The junior guard scored 11 straight points to end the first half and break open a close game, and he finished with a career high-tying 20 in the Cornhuskers' 63-51 victory.

Gallegos, who also had 20 in last Tuesday's road win over Wake Forest, missed the only two shots he took before getting hot the last five minutes of the half.

"What Gallegos did at the end of the first half was probably the difference in the game," USC coach Kevin O'Neill said. "It stretched it out. We were up. Then he went on that little tirade of shots that really gave them a lift and a boost."

Gallegos, who made 4 of 8 3-pointers against Wake Forest, hit a career-high 6 of 10 against the Trojans. His 55.6-percent shooting from long range in the two games is a far cry from his 35.1-percent accuracy the first five.

"I started off slow, but just like last game, my teammates told me to keep being aggressive and it'll come," he said.

Nebraska (6-1) had beaten USC each of the last three years by a total of eight points, and it looked like it would be another close game early. Then Gallegos went on a tear, scoring all 11 of his first-half points in a row to give the Huskers a 33-25 lead.

The Huskers, off to their best start since 2008-09, led by as many as 20 points in the most lopsided game in the recent four-game series with the Trojans.